Stinkin' Thinkin' Stinks: A Kid's Guide to the Lighter Side of Lifeby Bill KingPosted by: DailyOM

What would happen if negative thoughts and actions smelled bad? If they STANK? Would we notice them more? Would we be less inclined to indulge in them? Attributing bad smells to our negative thoughts, actions, and attitudes, in STINKIN' THINKIN' STINKS Bill King provides both young readers and their older friends with techniques to recognize, deal with, and mitigate the negativity that holds so many of us back. Readers will: Become aware of negative thought patterns. Discover ways to eliminate negative thinking. Learn how to avoid a negative “pack” mentality. Access the positive in life. Develop techniques for dealing with negative people and situations. Embrace positivity as their dominant way of thinking. Full of fun activities designed to provide kids with real tools for changing negative habits, STINKIN' THINKIN' STINKS offers a cool new approach to exterminating negativity while inviting YOU to change YOUR LIFE! STINKIN' THINKIN' STINKS will inspire discussion, introspection, and change in readers of all ages.

EXCERPT

Introduction

Do you ever find yourself thinking negative thoughts? Maybe you’re thinking about how difficult that test tomorrow is going to be and that there is no way you can pass it.

Or maybe you’re thinking about how much you dislike the kid who sits behind you in class. Maybe you’re annoyed with your brother, tired of your mom nagging you about your chores, or annoyed that you have to clean up your room. Or you might be thinking that you will never make the baseball team, don’t seem to have any friends, or that you wish you were prettier, a better athlete, or smarter. And you get into a funk. That is STINKIN’ THINKIN’.

There are a few things about our thoughts that each of us needs to know:

• The way we think about things often determines the way things are.

• The way we think can become a habit.

• STINKIN’ thoughts almost always create STINKIN’ results.

• Sweet thoughts, positivity, almost always create positive results.

What does this mean?

“Think you can, think you can’t; either way, you’ll be right.”–Henry Ford (American industrialist and pioneer of the assembly-line, 1863–1947)

STINKIN’ THINKIN’ Translation: Henry Ford, the founder of what is now Ford Motor Company, said it well when he stated, “Think you can, think you can’t; either way, you’ll be right.” What was he really saying, and how does it apply to all of our lives? Henry Ford was telling us that our attitude can determine what we accomplish, what roads we take in life, and how good or bad—how sweet or STINKIN’—our lives will be.

And we also need to know that the way we look at and think about things can become a habit. Whether we make that a good habit or a bad one is up to us.

• How do you generally think?

• What is your attitude usually like?

• Do you invite negativity into your life? Or are you focused on the positive?

• Are you even aware of how you think and how that thinking affects your life?

This book is about assessing your thinking and deciding whether you are using it to make your life better or worse. In other words, you are going to figure out if you have developed STINKIN’ THINKIN’. If you have, this book will help you change your habits so that your life can be the SA-WEETEST you can make it.

As you read through this book, embrace the funny words. STINKIN’ THINKIN’ . . . SA-WEET . . . STINK BUG . . . STENCH. They are exaggerations meant to make you really think about your thought process, the thoughts of others, and how very powerful thoughts are and what they can lead to.

Do the exercises. You really will learn something important about yourself from every one.

This is going to be informative. This is going to be empowering. And this is going to be fun!

STINKIN’ THINKIN’ Translation: You really don’t want to be attracted to STINK bait because you’ll attract a bunch of STINKIN’ people!

Negative thoughts STINK. You really don’t want other people’s STINK to rub off on you. And you certainly don’t want to become STINK bait yourself, attracting more STINKIN’ thoughts and What is STINK bait? It’s something you use when fishing for catfish; that’s what it is. And that’s not good, because catfish are among the DIRTIEST fish around. They’re bottom feeders that prey on STINKIN’ things, which is why STINK bait works so well. Much like a magnet to metal, these fish are naturally attracted to anything SMELLY. So here’s a question: Are your STINKIN’ thoughts attracting some STINKIN’ people to your life?

No one likes being around STINK bait! STINK bait is anything SMELLY that attracts other gross things to it. For example, what do you typically see flying around your SMELLY trashcan outside? Flies, of course, because they are attracted to SMELLY things, just like STINKIN’ people are attracted to other STINKIN’ people.

Some people are attracted to people that SMELL good, while others are attracted to people that SMELL bad.

The bottom line is that your STINKIN’ THINKIN’ attracts other people who have STINKIN’ THINKIN’, and that’s not a good combination. If you want a happy and productive life, don’t become STINK bait and attract other STINKIN’ people into your life.

The more you indulge in STINKIN’ THINKIN’, the more STINKIN’ thoughts and STINKIN’ people you will attract. It’s like one STINKIN’ thought attracts at least three more STINKIN’ thoughts, and you start to attract other STINKIN’ people who have STINKIN’ thoughts themselves. And then, those STINKIN’ thoughts attract more STINKIN’ thoughts and more STINKIN’ people with STINKIN’ thoughts. In other words in a very short time, YOU STINK! They STINK! And next thing you know, the health department has quarantined your entire neighborhood due to the hazardous waste you’re creating around yourself.

A good test to see if you are becoming STINK bait is to take a good look around you.

Like attracts like.

Are your friends people you look up to or down upon? What kinds of things do they say about other people? What kinds of things do they say about themselves? How do they respond when others say STINKIN’ things? Do they join in or try to turn the situation toward the positive?

Do they complain a lot? The answers to these questions are clues to your own STINKOCITY.

Remember that you are responsible for the friends you choose. If you have STINKIN’ friends, chances are good that you have a little STENCH yourself.

Please don’t STINK anymore! The world wants you to SMELL good. How can you avoid becoming STINK bait and start to SMELL really good?

To avoid becoming STINK bait, the key is awareness.

The problem with most people is that they don’t realize that they’re victims of STINKIN’ THINKIN’ and as a result don’t do anything about it. Don’t worry if you SMELL just a little because you had a few STINKIN’ thoughts. That’s perfectly acceptable. And if you’re aware of your STINKIN’ thoughts early enough, you can prevent yourself from becoming a full-out STINKIN’ person. Now, how SWEET is that?

Do everything within your power to eliminate STINKIN’ THINKIN’. Start becoming aware of your STINKIN’ thoughts because awareness will change your whole STINKIN’ life. Awareness is equal to SMELLING good. STINK bait is equal to SMELLING bad. Which choice are you going to make?